By Akhil Shah
OTTAWA (MNI) – The Canadian jobs market is poised to show another
increase in December when Statistics Canada’s presents its monthly labor
report Friday.
Economists surveyed by Market News International expect a gain of
20,00 jobs in December. If these expectations are met, the economy will
have added 38,000 jobs in the last quarter of 2010, as compared with
only 20,100 jobs added in the third quarter.
This result, in turn, would bring a relatively good end to the year
which saw a surging first half, where the economy recovered the more
than 400,000 jobs lost during the 2008-2009 recession. The first half
was later followed by sluggish growth during the second half of 2010.
The analysts expect the unemployment rate to edge up to 7.7%,
despite the employment growth, indicating a growing labor force.
The Help-Wanted index, a survey conducted by the Conference Board
of Canada to indicate the number of jobs advertised online, showed the
index advanced 2.4% in November after two consecutive monthly declines.
“Despite the increase, the recent declines in the index suggest that the
slowdown in the labor market will continue for the next few months at
least,” the survey said.
Over the next three to four months, the Canadian Federation of
Independent Business (CFIB) sees only 14% (increased from 12% earlier)
of small and medium enterprises business owners hiring full-time staff,
while 16% (an increase from 15% earlier) are expecting to downsize. The
remaining 70% (a decrease from 73% earlier) are projected to remain at
the current level.
“December may show gains in employment, driven primarily by a
rebound in private sector payrolls,” wrote Krishen Rangasamy, an
economist at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). Rangasamy
expects private sector payrolls to rebound in December with retailers
hiring additional staff to cope with the holiday shopping frenzy.
Paul Ferley, assistant chief economist at the Royal Bank of Canada
(RBC), expects the Canadian economy to add 23,200 jobs in December.
However, the unemployment rate will rise to 7.7% as more Canadians are
expected to enter the labor force, after it unexpectedly shrank 0.2% (or
by 43,600) in November, Ferley said.
“The manufacturing sector is expected to post a modest rebound of
about 4,500 in December, after a surprising drop of almost 30,000,”
Ferley said.
“The construction sector is also expected to post gains of about
11,000 jobs after it grew by 6,600 in November,” Ferley added. “The gain
in the construction sector should reveal a gain in the non-residential
side as compared to the residential one,” Ferley said.
** Market News International Ottawa **
[TOPICS: M$C$$$,MAUDS$]